CYBERBULLYING

1. CYBERBULLYING

2. Victims of Cyberbullying who eventually took their own lives

3. What Does Cyberbullying Involve?(Chisholm, 2006) • Cyberbullying occurs via: • chat rooms • online bulletin boards • e-mail • instant messaging • web sites • cell phones • on-line multiplayer video games • Cyberbullying involves: • harassing • humiliating • intimidating • sending derogatory insults or threats in messages • teasing • using inappropriate language

4. What Makes Cyberbullying Different From Traditional Bullying • Anonymity • People often act in ways that they usually would not act because the other person can’t physically see them (Mishna, Saini, & Solomon, 2009) • Rampant Distribution • Something that is posted on the internet or sent over text messages spreads very fast • Around the Clock • There doesn’t have to be physical contact for cyberbullying to take place

5. Social Networking Sites and Cyberbullying • Breeding ground for rumors, derogatory comments, and threats • Word meanings are often misunderstood when they are only read • Stolen passwords • Friends often share passwords or steal passwords which results in inaccurate posts- PROTECT YOUR PASSWORDS! • Exclusion • Things can be said about a person without them knowing. This isn’t fair because they are unable to defend themselves

6. Text Messaging and Cyberbullying • Using other’s phones • Be careful to whom you lend your phone. You never know what they are sending. You could get into some serious trouble. • Sending inappropriate pictures • Sexting • It is against the law to take, send, and receive sexually explicit pictures of minors • The act of sexting becomes cyberbullying when the pictures are circulated without consent resulting in 2 serious offenses.

7. Types of Cyberbullies(Chisholm, 2006) • “Vengeful Angels” • Those who are trying to “take up for” a friend who is getting picked on. • Don’t get in the middle of someone else’s cyberbullying situation. The best advice you can give your friend is to stop communicating with the bully/bullies. • “Power Hungry” • Those who pick on others only to make themselves feel powerful or dominant. • Be aware of these types of bullies. Try to avoid contributing to their mission to gain power by taking their side. • “Inadvertent Cyberbully” • Those who send a message that is misunderstood. • Be careful that what you say through the internet or text messaging is clear and cannot be misunderstood • “Mean Girls” • Girls who gang up on other girls and try to exclude them or humiliate them. • Don’t be a part of the “gang”

8. Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but Words Will Never Hurt Me? • NOT TRUE! • Cyberbullying can cause • Emotional distress • Academic problems • Absenteeism • Violence • Suicide

9. Washington State Law • According to RCW § 9.61.260 it is a against the law to harass, intimidate, torment, or embarrass someone through electronic communications. • Arrests have been made in cases where cyberbullying led to tragedy

10. What Can YOU Do? • Be aware of the way that you communicate with others through electronic means of communication • Don’t jump in the middle of a Facebook/Myspace argument or bullying situation. Instead, tell an adult if it is a situation that has gotten out of hand • Delete “friends” who constantly seem to be causing problems on social networking sites • Tell the counselor or a teacher if you know of a situation in which someone that you know is being bullied *There are also instructions for reporting harassment in your student handbook • Considering the consequences of cyberbullying

11. Any Questions?

12. References •  American School Counseling Association. (2003). The ASCA national model: A framework for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: ASCA. • Auerbach, S. (2009). Screening out cyberbullies: Remedies for victims on the internet playground. Cardozo Law Review, 30(4), 1641-1675. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. • Bakken, L., Gentes, C., & Solberg, N. (n.d.). Middle school cyberbullying curriculum. Seattle Public • Schools. Retrieved from http://www.seattleschools.org/area/prevention/cbms.html • Billitteri, T. J. (2008). Cyberbullying. CQ Researcher, 18 (17), 385-408. Retrieved April 3, 2010, • from CQ Researcher Online, http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2008050200. • Chisholm, J. (2006). Cyberspace violence against girls and adolescent females. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1087(1), 74-89. doi:10.1196/annals.1385.022 • Eckholm, E., Zezima. (2010, March). 6 teenagers are charged after classmate’s suicide. The New York • Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/us/30bully.html?pagewant=all • Gentile, C. (2009, February). Student fights record of 'cyberbullying'. New York Times. Retrieved from http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2067/us/lnacademic/auth/checkbrowser.do?rand • Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2008). Cyberbullying: An exploratory analysis of factors related to offending and victimization. Deviant Behavior, 29(2), 129-156. doi:10.1080/01639620701457816 • Li, Q. (2006) Cyberbullying in schools. School Psychology International, 27(2), 157-170. • Mishna, F., Saini, M., Solomon, S. (2009). Ongoing and online: Children and youth’s perceptions of cyber bullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 31, 1222- 1228. doi: 10.1016/j.child youth.2009.05.004 • Stone, C. (2009). School Counseling Principles: Ethic and Law (2ND ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCA. • Tokunaga, R. (2010). Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 277-287. • Washington Revised Code RCW § 9.61.260 (2004). Retrieved from http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=9.61.260 • Washington Revised Code § 28A 300-285 (2010). Retrieved from http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28A.300.285 • Willard, N. (2007). Cyberbullying legislation and school policies: Where are the boundaries of the “schoolhouse gate” in the virtual world? • Wiseman, R. (2009). Bullies without boundaries. ASCASchoolcounselor47(2) 23-27.